Joy Ann Reid is spinning as hard as she can in defence of Obama re: immigration. Conflating the missing kids story with the the ACLU report, and using Trump’s involvement in the former to deflect blame from Obama on the latter.
I’m not disagreeing with the sentiment about the current atmosphere (especially as it applies to the US), but it amuses/terrifies me how Americans of all stripes have this ridiculous notion that they are the cornerstone of worldwide peace, and that it will all collapse if they’re not there to hold it all together.
That’s a standard US delusion, yes.
From outside the US: no, we aren’t afraid that the US will cease to “maintain world peace”. We’re afraid that the US will massively amplify its constant work in manufacturing war.
The empire has never been a force for peace.
I’m just saying, I reject the premise of the question. “Who [among the current world leaders] is gonna save peace/stop fascism?”
Well, no. I mean, if a fascist nation starts amassing an army and invading other places, yes, you need other countries to step up and put together an army to push back the invasion. And I think if the U.S. actually starts doing that outright, China and Russia will step up and stop them.
But when you’re talking about “stopping fascism” in terms of stopping the ideology from spreading, stopping fascist states from popping up… That needs to be done internally, within each nation. Sanctions are a good idea in principle, but in practice, they’ll always hit the poor of a country harder than the leadership.
What, exactly, are they afraid of? “The US is going to bomb the Middle East and contribute to instability in the region, and promote the rise of militaristic, oppressive regimes!” Yes, I expect that’s coming, just as I fully expect Tuesday to come this week, as it did last week, and the week before, and the week before that.
I mean, I’m not going to say I wouldn’t sleep more comfortably with Trump being kept half a world away from the nuclear football. I think the prospect of a nuclear war (or a Second Cold War with the prospect of a nuclear conflict hovering over the world once again) is terrifyingly close. But I’m not afraid of that because of the rise of fascism; I’m afraid of that because a man who can’t keep straight what he had for breakfast this morning is in command of the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and the half of the country that isn’t in favour of perpetual war is being stoked into anger at the holder of the second-largest nuclear arsenal.
Reminder:
From an article linked from that one:
Hubris syndrome was formulated as a pattern of behaviour in a person who: (i) sees the world as a place for self-glorification through the use of power; (ii) has a tendency to take action primarily to enhance personal image; (iii) shows disproportionate concern for image and presentation; (iv) exhibits messianic zeal and exaltation in speech; (v) conflates self with nation or organization; (vi) uses the royal ‘we’ in conversation; (vii) shows excessive self-confidence; (viii) manifestly has contempt for others; (ix) shows accountability only to a higher court (history or God); (x) displays unshakeable belief that they will be vindicated in that court; (xi) loses contact with reality; (xii) resorts to restlessness, recklessness and impulsive actions; (xiii) allows moral rectitude to obviate consideration of practicality, cost or outcome; and (xiv) displays incompetence with disregard for nuts and bolts of policy making.
Sound like anyone you know?
This affronted schoolmarm bullshit was pathetic a year ago. Today, it’s theatre.
Shoot-on-sight at the border, perhaps.